Betty White leads fight song at Beverly Hills centennial bash

Beverly Hills birthday bash

Martha Groves

Beverly Hills turned 100 on Tuesday and celebrated with a concert and sing-along featuring notable current and former residents.

Betty White kicked off the evening at the historic Saban Theater by singing a spirited rendition of the Beverly Hills High School fight song. The veteran TV and film star, 92, was flanked by Beverly Hills High football players.

A capacity crowd of 1,500 sang along as maestro Gary Greene led the L.A. Lawyers Philharmonic in performing classics written by Beverly Hills notables, including George and Ira Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band" and Cole Porter's "Anything Goes."

Mayor John Mirisch played "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" (music: Burt Bacharach; lyrics: Hal David) on his ukulele. Richard Sherman -- whose musical work on "Mary Poppins" was featured in the movie "Saving Mr. Banks" -- conducted the orchestra in a medley of his and his brother Robert's tunes, including "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "It's a Small World."

Other celebrities who put in cameos were Florence Henderson, June Lockhart and Richard Simmons. Representing the much younger set was 14-year-old resident Golda Berkman, a promising opera singer who performed "Summertime."